Oct11

Justice for Victims of Police Killings: Vigil, Demonstration & March SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1pm rendez-vous: 480 Gilford, métro Laurier (St-Joseph exit) Family-friendly; welcome to all! Organized by the Justice for Victims of Police Killings Coalition comprised of the family, friends and allies of Anas Bennis, Claudio Castagnetta, Ben Matson, Quilem Registre, Gladys Tolley & Fredy Villaneuva. INFO: http://22octobre.net ———- INFO: http://22octobre.net 514-848-7583 22oct.mtl@gmail.com Justice for Victims of Police KillingsThe families of people killed by the police, their friends and their allies are organizing the second annual commemorative vigil and march to remember those who have lost their lives at the hands of the police. These families, who face an uphill battle in uncovering the truth and obtaining justice for their loved ones, need our support.Saturday, October 22: There will be a family-led and family-friendly march and vigil beginning in front of the Police Brotherhood (480 Gilford St., Laurier metro, St-Joseph exit). We strongly encourage as many supporters as possible to come out on the streets and show our support for the families. There is power in numbers! What we are seeking is DIGNITY, JUSTICE and TRUTH. The purpose of the march is to: REMEMBER the victims who lost their lives to police violence and abuse; and SUPPORT their families in any way we can. The Justice for the Victims of Police Killings Coalition currently involves the family members and friends of Anas Bennis, Claudio Castagnetta, Ben Matson, Quilem Registre, Gladys Tolley and Fredy Villanueva, all of whom died as a direct result of police actions and interventions. We continue to reach out to family and friends of other victims of police killings. This initiative came out of the Forum Against Police Violence and Impunity in January of 2010, during which the families expressed their desire to come together to remember their loved ones and strengthen their respective struggles for dignity, justice and the truth. The symbolic date of October 22 was subsequently chosen for a family-friendly march to commemorate the victims of police killings to coincide with the National Day of Protest in the United States organized by the October 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation, which has been mobilizing every year since 1996. In Montreal, there have been more than 60 people killed by the Montreal police since 1987. This includes the most recent killing of Mario Hamel and Patrick Limoges on June 7, 2011. Join us in denouncing these and all the other examples of police violence and impunity.We ask for your group’s endorsement of our demonstration. To endorse or to get involved contact us at (514) 848-7583 or at...

Art by Angela Sterritt Missing Justice and the 2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy invite you to come out and show your support in Montreal this October 4th at the sixth Annual Sisters in Spirit Memorial March and Vigil. When? Tuesday, October 4th, 6pm Where? Cabot Square (Parc Atwater), corner of Atwater and St. Catherine. Metro Atwater. Bridget Tolley founded the March and Vigil in 2005, which happens every year on the anniversary of her mother’s Gladys Tolley’s death. Since then, the march has been organized all across the country on that day. In 2010, 86 marches were held in communities across Canada, the largest number yet, with one march being held as far away as Nicaragua, showing us that the problem of Indigenous women being disproportionately affected by violence is one of colonized Nations worldwide. —Invited guests include Bridget Tolley, Sue Martin, Ellen Gabriel, Melissa Dupuis, Irkar Beljaars, Anik Sioui, Harvey Michel, Cheryl Diabo, Karine Gentelet, Tiohtiake Drum, and Moe Clark.— The purpose of this event is to honour the memories of missing and murdered women and girls, raise awareness, and demand that the government support the actions of families and communities and restore research funding to Sisters in Spirit (SIS), an initiative of the Native Women’s Association of Canada which was responsible for conducting groundbreaking research between 2004 and 2010 on the now known-of cases. Although their work is far from finished, the government insists that action must take the place of research, and instead of funding the research, community work, and actions of SIS, are instead diverting resources to a generic RCMP-led missing persons database, as well as vastly facilitating police power to obtain warrants and to install wiretaps. Many believe that both of these police privileges will be used to further allow the government of Canada’s criminalization of Native communities rather than increasing the safety of Native women. 583 Native women have gone missing or have been murdered since roughly 1980 according to the Native Women’s Association of Canada. Other organizations and activists suspect that the actual number is as high as 3000. The reality is that Native women in Canada are at least five times more likely to die of violence than non-Native women. Racist and sexist government policies, stereotypes of Indigenous women, a lack of media attention, and police negligence all contribute to, and indeed perpetuate this violence as well as the general lack of data–also a form of violence in itself. While some media and public attention has been given to cases in Western Canada, Native women in Quebec have also been targeted. For instance, Gladys Tolley, in 2001, an Algonquin woman from...